A cinetheodolite or kinetheodolite is a photographic instrument for collection of trajectory data. It can be used to acquire data in the testing of missiles , rockets , projectiles , aircraft , and fire control systems ; in the ripple firing of rockets, graze action tests, air burst fuze tests, and similar operations. Cinetheodolites provide angular measurements of the line of sight to the vehicle. This permits acquiring accurate position data. Together with timing systems, velocity and acceleration data can be developed from the position measurements. Cinetheodolites can serve as primary sources of position and velocity data to about 30 km slant range .
59-404: These instruments were developed from theodolites by the addition of a movie camera , adding the ability to track a vehicle in flight and so obtain continuous trajectory data. One of the objectives of testing missile and rocket systems is to determine the actual "in-flight" performance of the vehicles themselves. One of the prime requirements for establishing the performance of vehicles in flight
118-428: A direct line of sight to determine coordinates. However, GNSS measurements may require longer occupation periods and offer relatively poor accuracy in the vertical axis. Some models include internal electronic data storage to record distance, horizontal angle, and vertical angle measured, while other models are equipped to write these measurements to an external data collector , such as a hand-held computer. When data
177-552: A new instrument for the British Ordnance Survey . The Ramsden theodolite was used over the next few years to map the whole of southern Britain by triangulation. In network measurement, the use of forced centering speeds up operations while maintaining the highest precision. The theodolite or the target can be rapidly removed from, or socketed into, the forced centering plate with sub-millimeter precision. Nowadays GPS antennas used for geodetic positioning use
236-414: A set collection. This entails witnessing any angles recorded an equal number of times in both "direct" and "reverse" modes by sighting the observed backsight and foresights with the instrument facing the targets normally as well as with the scope flipped or "plunged" 180°. The recorded sets of angles taken from each target will be averaged together and a mean angle will be generated. Measurement of distance
295-417: A similar mounting system. The height of the reference point of the theodolite—or the target—above the ground benchmark must be measured precisely. The term transit theodolite , or transit for short, refers to a type of theodolite where the telescope is short enough to rotate in a full circle on its horizontal axis as well as around its vertical axis. It features a vertical circle which is graduated through
354-510: A single instrument that could measure both angles simultaneously. The first occurrence of the word "theodolite" is found in the surveying textbook A geometric practice named Pantometria (1571) by Leonard Digges . The origin of the word is unknown. The first part of the Neo-Latin theo-delitus might stem from the Greek θεᾶσθαι , "to behold or look attentively upon" The second part
413-421: A single operator. The USA instruments served wartime and postwar aviation research and aircraft/missile evaluation (White Sands Test Base/Missile Range) until 1950 and the arrival of the more capable German Askania units. Postwar models had selectable frame rates . Some cinetheodolites have rate-aided tracking control, whereby an open loop servomechanism in conjunction with operator actuated hand wheels match
472-467: A single unit. Triangulation , as invented by Gemma Frisius around 1533, consists of making such direction plots of the surrounding landscape from two separate standpoints. The two graphing papers are superimposed, providing a scale model of the landscape, or rather the targets in it. The true scale can be obtained by measuring one distance both in the real terrain and in the graphical representation. Modern triangulation as, e.g., practiced by Snellius ,
531-471: A theodolite, but it does not measure vertical angles, and is used only for leveling on a horizontal plane (though often combined with medium accuracy horizontal range and direction measurements). Temporary adjustments are a set of operations necessary in order to make a theodolite ready for taking observations at a station. These include its setting up, centering, leveling up and elimination of parallax, and are achieved in four steps: Sightings are taken by
590-531: A very accurate dividing engine of his own design. Ramsden's instruments were used for the Principal Triangulation of Great Britain . At this time the highest precision instruments were made in England by such makers as Edward Troughton . Later the first practical German theodolites were made by Breithaupt together with Utzschneider , Reichenbach and Fraunhofer . As technology progressed
649-403: A virtual model to a tangible construction potentially eliminates labor costs related to moving poorly measured systems, as well as time spent laying out these systems in the midst of a full-blown construction job in progress. Meteorologists also use total stations to track weather balloons for determining upper-level winds. With the average ascent rate of the weather balloon known or assumed,
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#1732775865521708-521: Is a combination motion-picture-recording and surveying instrument which tracks and photographs targets (in flight vehicles, etc.). Cinetheodolites are employed in synchronized pairs, and azimuth/elevation data recorded on film is later reduced by trigonometry to establish position and movement of the target at a given moment. The recorded visual images and synchronizing pulse assure accuracy. German and UK WW2 cinetheodolites were large and complex, requiring two operators while USA versions were more compact with
767-417: Is a long history of theodolite use in measuring winds aloft, by using specially-manufactured theodolites to track the horizontal and vertical angles of special weather balloons called ceiling balloons or pilot balloons ( pibal ). Early attempts at this were made in the opening years of the nineteenth century, but the instruments and procedures weren't fully developed until a hundred years later. This method
826-495: Is a precision optical instrument for measuring angles between designated visible points in the horizontal and vertical planes. The traditional use has been for land surveying , but it is also used extensively for building and infrastructure construction , and some specialized applications such as meteorology and rocket launching. It consists of a moveable telescope mounted so it can rotate around horizontal and vertical axes and provide angular readouts. These indicate
885-401: Is accomplished with a modulated infrared carrier signal, generated by a small solid-state emitter within the instrument's optical path, and reflected by a prism reflector or the object under survey. The modulation pattern in the returning signal is read and interpreted by the computer in the total station. The distance is determined by emitting and receiving multiple frequencies, and determining
944-425: Is an electronic/optical instrument used for surveying and building construction . It is an electronic transit theodolite integrated with electronic distance measurement (EDM) to measure both vertical and horizontal angles and the slope distance from the instrument to a particular point, and an on-board computer to collect data and perform triangulation calculations. Robotic or motorized total stations allow
1003-458: Is called a resection solution or free station position surveying and is widely used in mapping surveying. Such instruments are "intelligent" theodolites called self-registering tacheometers or colloquially " total stations ", and perform all the necessary angular and distance calculations, and the results or raw data can be downloaded to external processors, such as ruggedized laptops , PDAs or programmable calculators . A gyrotheodolite
1062-1002: Is downloaded from a total station onto a computer, application software can be used to compute results and generate a map of the surveyed area. The newest generation of total stations can also show the map on the touch-screen of the instrument immediately after measuring the points. Most large-scale excavation or mapping projects benefit greatly from the proficient use of total stations. They are mainly used by land surveyors and civil engineers , either to record features as in topographic surveying or to set out features (such as roads, houses or boundaries). They are used by police, crime scene investigators, private accident reconstructionists and insurance companies to take measurements of scenes. Total stations are also employed by archaeologists, offering millimeter accuracy difficult to achieve using other tools as well as flexibility in setup location. They prove crucial in recording artifact locations, architectural dimensions, and site topography. Total stations are
1121-422: Is known as a total station where angles and distances are measured electronically, and are read directly to computer memory. In a transit theodolite , the telescope is short enough to rotate about the trunnion axis , turning the telescope through the vertical plane through the zenith ; for non-transit instruments vertical rotation is restricted to a limited arc. The optical level is sometimes mistaken for
1180-527: Is often attributed to an unscholarly variation of the Greek word: δῆλος , meaning "evident" or "clear". Other Neo-Latin or Greek derivations have been suggested as well as an English origin from "the alidade ". The early forerunners of the theodolite were sometimes azimuth instruments for measuring horizontal angles, while others had an altazimuth mount for measuring horizontal and vertical angles. Gregorius Reisch illustrated an altazimuth instrument in
1239-442: Is reasonably light in color, up to a few hundred meters . The coordinates of an unknown point relative to a known coordinate can be determined using the total station as long as a direct line of sight can be established between the two points. Angles and distances are measured from the total station to points under survey, and the coordinates ( X , Y , and Z ; or easting, northing , and elevation ) of surveyed points relative to
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#17327758655211298-452: Is taken into account in the choice of measurement procedure in order to eliminate their effect on the measurement results of the theodolite. Prior to the theodolite, instruments such as the groma , geometric square and the dioptra , and various other graduated circles (see circumferentor ) and semicircles (see graphometer ) were used to obtain either vertical or horizontal angle measurements. Over time their functions were combined into
1357-400: Is the same procedure executed by numerical means. Photogrammetric block adjustment of stereo pairs of aerial photographs is a modern, three-dimensional variant. In the late 1780s, Jesse Ramsden , a Yorkshireman from Halifax , England who had developed the dividing engine for dividing angular scales accurately to within a second of arc (≈ 0.0048 mrad or 4.8 μrad), was commissioned to build
1416-527: Is to be held as a backsight — sighting with the reticle inside the eyepiece — then holding that line as an angle of 00°00‘̣00“̣. The operator then will turn the head of the instrument at a target or feature that is to be observed as a foresight and record the AR (Angle Right) from the backsight measured by the instrument in which a horizontal angle is produced. Angular error in the instrument as well as collimation error can be mitigated in many total stations by performing
1475-609: Is to obtain accurate data which will reveal the position in space and the attitude of the vehicle during its trajectory. The employment of optics at a missile range may become highly significant in obtaining these data, if the atmosphere permits reasonably unobstructed observation, and if, moreover, an all-land test area makes possible optimum siting of instruments for most desirable look angles. Under these conditions, optics in general, and photogrammetry in particular, correlated with other instrumentation systems, can provide effective and accurate data of target trajectory. The cinetheodolite
1534-831: Is to prevent people from disrupting the total station as they walk past, which would necessitate resetting the tripod and re-establishing a baseline. Additionally, an assistant surveyor discourages opportunistic theft, which is not uncommon due to the value of the instrument. If all else fails, most total stations have serial numbers. The National Society of Professional Surveyors hosts a registry of stolen equipment which can be checked by institutions that service surveying equipment to prevent stolen instruments from circulating. These motorized total stations can also be used in automated setups known as "automated motorized total station". Most total station instruments measure angles by means of electro-optical scanning of extremely precise digital bar-codes etched on rotating glass cylinders or discs within
1593-405: Is used when the north-south reference bearing of the meridian is required in the absence of astronomical star sights. This occurs mainly in the underground mining industry and in tunnel engineering. For example, where a conduit must pass under a river, a vertical shaft on each side of the river might be connected by a horizontal tunnel. A gyrotheodolite can be operated at the surface and then again at
1652-541: The Everest pattern theodolite with its lower center of gravity. Railway engineers working in the 1830s in Britain commonly referred to a theodolite as a "Transit". The 1840s was the start of a period of rapid railway building in many parts of the world which resulted in a high demand for theodolites wherever railways were being constructed. It was also popular with American railroad engineers pushing west, and it replaced
1711-449: The X and Y axes to lay out the locations of penetrations out of the underground utilities into the foundation, between floors of a structure, as well as roofing penetrations. Because more commercial and industrial construction jobs have become centered around building information modeling (BIM), the coordinates for almost every pipe, conduit, duct and hanger support are available with digital precision. The application of communicating
1770-461: The Earth in order to find true north and thus, in conjunction with the direction of gravity, the plane of the meridian. The meridian is the plane that contains both the axis of the Earth's rotation and the observer. The intersection of the meridian plane with the horizontal defines the true north-south direction found in this way. Unlike magnetic compasses , gyrocompasses are able to find true north,
1829-655: The Wild T2 with 3.75 inch circles was not able to provide the accuracy for primary triangulation it was the equal in accuracy to a 12 inch traditional design. The Wild T2, T3, and A1 instruments were made for many years. In 1926 a conference was held at Tavistock in Devon , UK where Wild theodolites were compared with British ones. The Wild product outclassed the British theodolites so manufacturers such as Cooke, Troughton & Simms and Hilger & Watts set about improving
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1888-687: The accuracy of their products to match their competition. Cooke, Troughton and Simms developed the Tavistock pattern theodolite and later the Vickers V. 22. Wild went on to develop the DK1, DKM1, DM2, DKM2, and DKM3 for Kern Aarau company. With continuing refinements, instruments steadily evolved into the modern theodolite used by surveyors today. By 1977 Wild, Kern and Hewlett-Packard were all offering "Total stations" which combined angular measurements, electronic distance measurement and microchip functions in
1947-480: The altitude and azimuth scales reading zero degrees. A balloon is released in front of the theodolite, and its position is precisely tracked, usually once a minute. The balloons are carefully constructed and filled, so their rate of ascent can be known fairly accurately in advance. Mathematical calculations on time, rate of ascent, azimuth and angular altitude can produce good estimates of wind speed and direction at various altitudes. In modern electronic theodolites,
2006-468: The angle between the earth's rotation and the direction of gravity is too small for it to work reliably. When available, astronomical star sights are able to give the meridian bearing to better than one hundred times the accuracy of the gyrotheodolite. Where this extra precision is not required, the gyrotheodolite is able to produce a result quickly without the need for night observations. Total station A total station or total station theodolite
2065-401: The angular rates of the tracking axis with the angular rates of the target line of position. Cinetheodolites consist of a stable base and bearing, a vertical gimbal or trunnion carrier which rotates about a vertical axis normal to the plane of the base; a central drum or housing which contains the system telescopic lenses, plus a camera and film assembly; a horizontal trunnion shaft on which
2124-509: The appendix of his 1512 book Margarita Philosophica . Martin Waldseemüller , a topographer and cartographer made the device in that year calling it the polimetrum . In Digges's book of 1571, the term "theodolite" was applied to an instrument for measuring horizontal angles only, but he also described an instrument that measured both altitude and azimuth which he called a topographicall instrument [ sic ]. Possibly
2183-486: The back. For wall stations, two plugs are installed in opposite walls, forming a line perpendicular to the drift. For back stations, two plugs are installed in the back, forming a line parallel to the drift. A set of plugs can be used to locate the total station set up in a drift or tunnel by processing measurements to the plugs by intersection and resection . Total stations have become the highest standard for most forms of construction layout. They are most often used in
2242-711: The central drum is mounted so that it can rise or dip about the horizontal axis; and the sighting telescopes , which are also mounted on the horizontal trunnion shaft. Notable cinetheodolite manufacturers include Ackeley Camera Co., Mitchell Camera Corp.,J. W. Fecker Division, American Optical Co., Pittsburgh, Pa. (USA), iMAR Navigation GmbH, St. Ingbert (Germany), "Askania Werke Rathenow" (Germany), Rheinmetall Air Defence (formerly Contraves AG, Switzerland), and BELOMO (Belarus). PhotoSonics, Inc. (California, USA) Cinetheodolites , Materiel Test Procedure 5-1-031, White Sands Missile Range , 31 March 1969 Theodolite A theodolite ( / θ i ˈ ɒ d ə ˌ l aɪ t / )
2301-588: The early 1920s a step change in theodolite design occurred with the introduction of the Wild T2 made by the Swiss Wild Heerbrugg company. Heinrich Wild designed a theodolite with divided glass circles with readings from both sides presented at a single eyepiece close to the telescope so the observer did not have to move to read them. The Wild instruments were not only smaller, easier to use and more accurate than contemporary rivals but also sealed from rain and dust. Canadian surveyors reported that while
2360-421: The essential features of the modern theodolite was built in 1725 by Jonathan Sisson . This instrument had an altazimuth mount with a sighting telescope. The base plate had spirit levels, compass and adjusting screws. The circles were read with a vernier scale . The theodolite became a modern, accurate instrument in 1787, with the introduction of Jesse Ramsden 's famous great theodolite , which he created using
2419-453: The eye. Gradually these scales were enclosed for physical protection, and finally became an indirect optical readout, with convoluted light paths to bring them to a convenient place on the instrument for viewing. The modern digital theodolites have electronic displays. Index error, horizontal-axis error ( trunnion-axis error ) and collimation error are regularly determined by calibration and are removed by mechanical adjustment. Their existence
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2478-409: The first instrument approximating to a true theodolite was the built by Josua Habemel in 1576, complete with compass and tripod. The 1728 Cyclopaedia compares " graphometer " to "half-theodolite". As late as the 19th century, the instrument for measuring horizontal angles only was called a simple theodolite and the altazimuth instrument, the plain theodolite . The first instrument to combine
2537-402: The foot of the shafts to identify the directions needed to tunnel between the base of the two shafts. Unlike an artificial horizon or inertial navigation system, a gyrotheodolite cannot be relocated while it is operating. It must be restarted again at each site. The gyrotheodolite comprises a normal theodolite with an attachment that contains a gyrocompass , a device which senses the rotation of
2596-410: The full 360 degrees and a telescope that could "flip over" ("transit the scope"). By reversing the telescope and at the same time rotating the instrument through 180 degrees about the vertical axis, the instrument can be used in 'plate-left' or 'plate-right' modes ('plate' refers to the vertical protractor circle). By measuring the same horizontal and vertical angles in these two modes and then averaging
2655-473: The instrument. The best quality total stations are capable of measuring angles within a standard deviation of 0.5 arc-seconds . Inexpensive "construction grade" total stations can generally measure angles within standard deviations of 5 or 10 arc-seconds. Angle measurement is typically performed by the operator first occupying a known point, aiming the head of the instrument at a target or prism which exists at either another known point or along an azimuth, which
2714-450: The integer number of wavelengths to the target for each frequency . Most total stations use purpose-built glass prism (surveying) reflectors for the EDM signal. A typical total station can measure distances up to 1,500 meters (4,900 ft) with an accuracy of about 1.5 millimeters (0.059 in) ± 2 parts per million. Reflectorless total stations can measure distances to any object that
2773-411: The operator to control the instrument from a distance via remote control. In theory, this eliminates the need for an assistant staff member, as the operator holds the retroreflector and controls the total station from the observed point. In practice, however, an assistant surveyor is often needed when the surveying is being conducted in busy areas such as on a public carriageway or construction site. This
2832-417: The orientation of the telescope, and are used to relate the first point sighted through the telescope to subsequent sightings of other points from the same theodolite position. These angles can be measured with accuracies down to microradians or seconds of arc . From these readings a plan can be drawn, or objects can be positioned in accordance with an existing plan. The modern theodolite has evolved into what
2891-472: The primary survey instrument used in mining surveying. A total station is used to record the absolute location of the tunnel walls, ceilings (backs), and floors, as the drifts of an underground mine are driven. The recorded data are then downloaded into a CAD program and compared to the designed layout of the tunnel. The survey party installs control stations at regular intervals. These are small steel plugs installed in pairs in holes drilled into walls or
2950-411: The processor. Many modern theodolites are equipped with integrated electro-optical distance measuring devices, generally infrared based, allowing the measurement in one step of complete three-dimensional vectors —albeit in instrument-defined polar coordinates , which can then be transformed to a preexisting coordinate system in the area by means of a sufficient number of control points. This technique
3009-463: The railroad compass , sextant and octant . Theodolites were later adapted to a wider variety of mountings and uses. In the 1870s, an interesting waterborne version of the theodolite (using a pendulum device to counteract wave movement) was invented by Edward Samuel Ritchie . It was used by the U.S. Navy to take the first precision surveys of American harbors on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. In
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#17327758655213068-405: The readout of the horizontal and vertical circles is usually done with a rotary encoder . These produce signals indicating the altitude and azimuth of the telescope which are fed to a microprocessor. CCD sensors have been added to the focal plane of the telescope allowing both auto-targeting and the automated measurement of residual target offset. All this is implemented in embedded software of
3127-460: The results, centering and collimating errors in the instrument can be eliminated. Some transit instruments are capable of reading angles directly to thirty arc-seconds (≈ 0.15 mrad ). Modern theodolites are usually of the transit-theodolite design, but engraved plates have been replaced with glass plates designed to be read with light-emitting diodes and computer circuitry, greatly improving accuracy up to arc-second (≈ 0.005 mrad ) levels. There
3186-481: The standard theodolite design. Development of the theodolite was spurred on by specific needs. In the 1820s progress on national surveying projects such as the Ordnance Survey in Britain produced a requirement for theodolites capable of providing sufficient accuracy for large scale triangulation and mapping. The Survey of India at this time produced a requirement for more rugged and stable instruments such as
3245-401: The surface direction toward the north pole. A gyrotheodolite will function at the equator and in both the northern and southern hemispheres. The meridian is undefined at the geographic poles. A gyrotheodolite cannot be used at the poles where the Earth's axis is precisely perpendicular to the horizontal axis of the spinner, indeed it is not normally used within about 15 degrees of the pole where
3304-406: The surveyor, who adjusts the telescope's vertical and horizontal angular orientation so the cross-hairs align with the desired sighting point. Both angles are read either from exposed or internal scales and recorded. The next object is then sighted and recorded without moving the position of the instrument and tripod. The earliest angular readouts were from open vernier scales directly visible to
3363-423: The total station position are calculated using trigonometry and triangulation . To determine an absolute location, a total station requires line of sight observations and can be set up over a known point or with line of sight to 2 or more points with known location, called free stationing . For this reason, some total stations also have a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver and do not require
3422-443: The vertical partial circle was replaced with a full circle, and both vertical and horizontal circles were finely graduated. This was the transit theodolite . This type of theodolite was developed from 18th century astronomical Transit instruments used to measure accurate star positions. The technology was transferred to theodolites in the early 19th century by instrument makers such as Edward Troughton and William Simms and became
3481-487: Was extensively used in World War II and thereafter, and was gradually replaced by radio and GPS measuring systems from the 1980s onward. The pibal theodolite uses a prism to bend the optical path by 90 degrees so the operator's eye position does not change as the elevation is changed through a complete 180 degrees. The theodolite is typically mounted on a rugged steel stand, set up so it is level and pointed north, with
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